Mon 5.8.

House in Mechelen by Areal Architecten, photo courtesy Areal Architecten

In Mechelen, near Antwerp, Belgium, Areal Architecten has created a site sensitive three storey town house with a brick facade that blends old and new.

House in Mechelen by Areal Architecten, photo courtesy Areal Architecten

“By a set of subtle surfaces, the front facade is struggling to blend into the template of the street.” says Areal Architecten. “It balances between integrating and standing out.”

House in Mechelen by Areal Architecten, photo courtesy Areal Architecten

Inside, a continuous open space made of large and generous rooms, are connected to each other by unexpected views that create a compressed urban-like space. “A ‘canyon’ of light allows to create a dinstinction between the living spaces and the bedrooms while extending itself to the ground floor through a void which receives the staircase.”

House in Mechelen by Areal Architecten, photo courtesy Areal Architecten

“The traditional spaces of a house are put together here into a single organic space with raw finishing such as a concrete grid on the ceiling and the prominent interior brick wall. A difference of level on the ground floor creates a smooth transition between the street and the back of the house which is ended with a longitudinal garden.”

House in Mechelen by Areal Architecten, photo courtesy Areal Architecten

“Through precise openings and a terrace in extension of the living room, the boundaries between inside and outside in this townhouse are fading.”

House in Mechelen by Areal Architecten, photo courtesy Areal Architecten

House in Mechelen by Areal Architecten, photo courtesy Areal Architecten

House in Mechelen by Areal Architecten, photo courtesy Areal Architecten

House in Mechelen by Areal Architecten, image courtesy Areal Architecten